The Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) recently completed its inaugural Win This Space competition. It was a robust process that took a number of local entrepreneurs through a workshop and business planning process.
The competitors were narrowed down to 10, and then five, finalists. This week I thought I’d profile all five finalists, starting with:
The Winner: Tiny Greens
Owner Tina Bromley is two years into her business. A regular at the Lakefield and Peterborough Farmers Markets, Tina sells microgreens, vegetables, and herbs. She also supplies a number of local chefs and caterers.
Her new downtown store will allow her to expand all of her products in a retail setting, add custom gifts, juices, and salad mixes, workshops, training and supplies for the do-it-yourself crowd, and continue to build her chef tray business.
For more information on Tiny Greens, visit www.tinygreens.ca.
The other four businesses in the top five were:
Finalist: Chalk Therapy
Owner Tara Genge turned months of chemo therapy into a new business refinishing furniture.
Tara takes unfit, broken, or cast-off items, then repairs and refinishes them — not only saving them from the landfill, but creating beautiful products that she sells to her customers.
You can find Chalk Therapy on Facebook and Instagram.
Finalist: Revival
Similarly, Erin Watson’s business idea is to create a furniture and design consignment boutique.
Called Revival, the business would offer a place to sell gently used items, showcase local designers, and take dated pieces and give them new life.
You can follow Revival on Twitter @Revival_ptbo.
Finalist: Scoop
Scoop was Anna Eidt’s business idea.
Anna is already in business, operating as Lou Brown Vintage, turning dusty old china into wall décor with sass. Anna wants to create a hub for local art lovers called Scoop.
You can find Lou Brown Vintage on Facebook and Etsy.
Finalist: META4 Contemporary Craft Gallery
META4 Contemporary Craft Gallery is a well-known Port Perry business.
The partners — local artists Jennifer Hardie, Birgitta MacLeod and Bonnie Thomson — want to expand into downtown Peterborough.
META4 features the work of Ontario artists and artisans, and you can find them at 200 Queen Street in Port Perry, or online at www.meta4gallery.ca.
Congratulations to all of the participants, and to Terry Guiel and the team at the DBIA for a fantastic concept, executed perfectly in its first year.
